The Saxon Shield Logo was produced rather crudely using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Paint, and Gimp. I wish I had enough patience to actually learn to use a REAL photo editor, but the results look pretty nice!
The Jörmungandr Shield
In Norse mythology,
this is the name of the Midgard Serpent ,also called the
World Serpent, that encircles the earth beneath the ocean.
This is the shield that started the whole thing. It's a whopping 3/4" thick plywood, and is rather too heavy. The leather tooling was done with two screwdrivers and a rusty hammer. I'm surprised it turned out so well!
An early attempt at a curved Kite Shield, this one without a center boss. The body is two layers of 1/4" plywood glued together on my home-built bending jig. Faced with linen fabric and wool felt, I edged it in deer rawhide. The arm pad leather used to be a ladies leather coat, purchased at a local thrift store. This shield is currently in stock, and available for purchase.
Here's a view of my plywood bending jig where I make my Kite Shield bodies. The lumber was scrounged from a local construction dumpster.
I encourage my customers to be creative while designing their shields. The possibilities for design elements are almost limitless. I start every new design with artwork to share with my customers, adding elements that I have on hand, or those I have access to. I can take your ideas and turn them into unique shield designs. This album contains just a sampling: